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It's too bad all churches aren't as eccentric and wildly enthusiastic as Mount Kneel Down Non Denominational Center. While the congregation praises THE LORD, other members are continuing to feed their habits of greed and anger. I felt really upset with Deacon Whistle who has the nerve to embezzle funds from the church. As I looked at him, I also looked at myself. I'm not embezzling church funds, but I'm far from an ideal Christian. Let's just say I'm taking care of my hateful habits without the help of detectives and a family that includes members like the two Godmothers Joy and Patience. I am also without the help of cousins like Porky and Lil' P. Each of these characters I have named are fun, really hilarious is the right term.

Pat G'Orge-Walker's mix of crime with religion and a hair salon are wonderful. This is the novel to read for calming all those strung out nerves. If I didn't feel like laughing and wanted to stay in a cry i…

This is a wonderful novel about a family's move from Georgia to Philadelphia, South to the North. AYANA MATHIS helped me keep track of the time in American History by adding the year at the beginning of the chapter. THE TWELVE TRIBES OF HATTIE begins in 1925. The novel ends in 1980. It is amazing how many important issues are covered in the novel: marriage, death, child rearing, Mental health, motherhood, family harmony or disunity. Really, I began to understand more deeply all families are really alike in one way. There is the struggle to understand one another with love while each person in the family reaches out for change. I would add change to the list of issues involved in the novel.

Hattie is like a river. Her tributaries, children, branch out and widen. Each branch of the river seems to grapple for away to gain personal strength away from the mother figure. Hattie is portrayed as remote but not hateful. I am use to mothers being portrayed as very good or very b…

KINDLE Net GalleyAbington Press

I enjoyed this Christmas novel by Jennifer Allee so much. A Wild Goose Goose Chase Christmas is about family love. However, it is an honest novel. Just because we're family doesn't mean there aren't any disagreements and misunderstandings. I think family is like friendship. The only difference is with family you live together, grow up together knowing each others most secret flaws and of course, it's impossible to pick family like you would pick a friend. Izzy's family is going through many difficulties during the happiest time of year. Yes, I have to accept it. Difficulties occur at Cristmas time too. The women in Izzy's family haven't always gotten along together. It beginning to look like a recurring pattern of frustrated feelings between mothers and daughters. Izzy's mother, Janice, didn't have a good relationship with her mother. As a matter of fact, Janice, after her mother's death, is still deal…

I have read other works by Tyora Moody. So when I bought this one it didn't surprise me. Her writing is flawless. I hope she continues to write mysteries. In Charlotte there is a woman named Candace. Candace epitomizes the meaning of when it rains, it pours. Candace's husband and best friend were murdered. Candace can't turn to her mother for comfort or counsel because she also has died. Candace is the mother of a boy and a girl. The girl doesn't help matters because she is going through her own growing pains.

The title of the novel definitely fits this woman's story. WHEN RAIN FALLS what should a person do? How do you go on with life? Tyora Moody gives the answers through the lives of her characters. This is why it's great Christian fiction. The novel takes you down to the depths of man's inhumane side. Then, lifts you up with the words of THE LORD. In my mind I thought about what it takes to survive when you find yourself alive but at the bo…

On Hope Island near Virginia Beach there is a large inn. The name of the inn is TIDEWATER INN. COLLEEN COBLE shares the details of Tidewater Inn's decorative beauty immediately. In this way I knew all that would happen for good or bad in the novel would tie back to this property. I was not surprised to learn the main character, Libby Holladay, worked as a historical restorer of homes. Libby does not really work because she loves restoring and researching the past of these aged buildings. It is her dream job.

The house was definitely in the Federal style, as she'd been told. Palladian windows flanked a centered door, or rather the opening for a door...She could almost see the original occupants in this place."

Libby Holladay will inherit the Tidewater Inn. However, the inn is like an abused person. It comes with a set of destructive problems. It seems each person involved with the inn is unhappy or unable to find God's meaning or love in their life. It is incredible to…

"She moved close enough to see the brushstrokes. "'They look like Washington Allston originals.'" They are. Ray loved the religious ones. He said Allston always chose obscure events in the Old Testament to illustrate how we should live out our faith."huntfor.com/absoluteig/Allston

Cate Kincaid is a substitute P.I. for her uncle. It doesn't take long before she finds her first dead body at the bottom of a stairway. The dead woman is Amelia, the head of the mystery book club in Oregon. It is amazing how one death can lead to so many different suspects and eccentric people. However, Cate has the stamina to react and regroup very quickly. Perhaps, this good character trait is because she believes in prayer. At one time she prays with Willow. Willow never forgets that prayerful moment. When she is in dire straits again, she asks for Cate's prayers again.

My favorite character is Willow. She is really a complex character. Far more psychologically thrilling than Cate who is an ordinary, loving and helpful citizen. I love trees. Perhaps, this is why I liked Willow so much. Who she is and what she needs or wants begins to open up while she is far up in a tree sitting on a limb. She is up there to try and save the tree. Cate calls her a tree sitter. I would have…

I entered the Kindle Shopping Spree. I tweeted @topazshell about the shopping spree. I face booked about the event at Christian fiction book reviews. I face booked the announcement on my Face Book wall.christianfictionbookreviews2012/09/300-kindle-shopping-spree.

In Michigan during the time when men worked hard in the lumber camps to make money for their families three girls lived through horrible days of emotional and physical abuse. Two girls, Daisy and Lily, were sisters. Frankie is not a relative or a close friend. Of the girls only Lily has enough freedom to try and rescue Daisy. The novel Unending Devotion caused me to think about power. When power is in the wrong hands, all sorts of atrocious situations can happen in society. James Carr is a man with a magnificent amount of power. He is fully aware of the fact that people fear him. He is also aware of the fact that his power can reach as far as the tentacles of an octopus. He's a cruel man. I found it hard to believe that a man could live without a conscience and without a shred of kindness in him. What makes a person so heartless? I didn't have time or concern to worry about what made Carr tick psychologically. Like Lily I just wanted his senseless evil to end.

I liked Lily…

footprintsiamauthor

Most Christians are anxious to go to Heaven after their death. Usually, Christians meditate and talk about Heaven many times before their death. The Thoughts of Heaven bring them relief from a world that at times can seem sad and incredibly awful to experience. Mary C. Neal. MD, the author of TO HEAVEN AND BACK had an extraordinary experience. After a horrible kayaking accident in South America, she loses her life. To me, the capsized kayak seemed to be smothering her to death by turning upside on her body in roaring, swift waters. Mary's friends did all they could to save her. Alas, she died. Thankfully, she goes to Heaven where she feels nothing but peace and love.

However, because her purpose on earth is not finished. She is returned to earth to finish her life simply because her friends and family still need her desperately. Mary C. Neal's experience is called a near death experience. After her return from Heaven, she remembers what she saw and heard in…

"The river, when it was in a good mood, had this way of making you feel contented within the moment, making you feel that all was right with the world."

Today I'm starting CHILDREN of ANGELS  by KATHRYN DAHLSTROM. It's published by WINEPRESS PUBLISHING. bookjourney

Fannie, Ruth, Lizzie all have very different issues to struggle with every day. Karen Anna Vogel writes openly about the struggles women face in the Amish community. Their community is like our small worlds. As a matter of fact the concerns are so stressful the women have a hard time getting together with Ella for a night of knitting. What a shame because knitting would definitely give them a bit of relaxation and perhaps, a chance to share their problems over a dish of Cinnamon flop. Yes, there is Amish cooking in the story. My mouth watered as I read about the Cinnamon flop. I am thankful. At the end of the book there is a recipe. It looks like a simple recipe too.

To give an example about one woman's life I will share Fannie. She thinks her body looks as big as a cow. Seriously, she is not joking. She thinks her face is too big and her body with it. Really, according to Ella she is quite pretty. I am anxious to read Volume II. To learn who will fall in love with whom. After al…

It has been the sweetest and most meaningful journey I've taken  in a long while. Robin Roberts' mother Lucimarian Roberts is a modern day heroine. It will be impossible not to remember parts of her life story. Mrs. Roberts grew up in Akron, Ohio. Once married she moved to Pass Christian, Mississippi. This is where she and her husband Larry Roberts raised their family. Throughout her life Mrs. Roberts always lived a life filled with faith. Whenever there were hard times or good times in her life she meditated upon a scripture or played much loved hymns on her piano. "Music  got me through the loneliest time of my life when I was a young wife and mother." Throughout the book there are words to hymns. There are also scripture verses. There are parts of her memoir I especially loved and pondered while reading. There are also places in the book where I laughed especially when Mrs. Roberts pulled down the car window and said a word or two to a mean driver. Sh…

Coming February 29, 2012

I haven't read about children who unfortunately become orphans at an early age in a long time. Peach is the last name of the family Larry Peterson writes about in his novel, THE PRIEST AND THE PEACHES. Teddy, Joanie, Beeker, Dancer, Joey have no mother or father. Their mother died a few year earlier. Next their father dies. The Peaches seem doomed to live a hard life of struggle and heartbreak. Their father called Yimey by family and acquaintances also had a prosthesis for a leg. When the Peaches' father dies, there is a whirlwind of confusion and a feeling of being unprepared. This is not surprising. The oldest Peach is only eighteen. The youngest is a toddler. Thankfully, Teddy and Joanie jump in immediately to act the part of mature parents with a household full of children. Their father's inability to make enough money to take care of his family is an issue faced almost before the funeral ends. There are problems with the insurance, the telephone bill, the rent for th…

I am use to thinking of religion as bringing peace not war. Some very religious people can quote chapter and verse about The Lord bringing "war and rumours of war" divided houses. The Scent of CHERRY BLOSSOMS by CINDY WOODSMALL is a novel which puts these opposing views in perspective by using two families. One family is Amish. The other family is Mennonite. Aden falls deeply in love with Annie. There is a very big problem. Aden's family is Amish. Annie's grandfather is a Mennonite. It is believed the marriage between Aden and Annie can't possibly work. In Biblical language they would be unequally yoked. I felt so sad for these two young people. How can you stop loving someone because it makes other people unhappy?

"Some aspects of their religion made little sense to her, but she knew why she and Aden couldn't be seen together. Old Order Mennonite and Old Order Amish were good neighbors, helpful, kind, and generous, but the boundaries concerning interre…